When the Zombies began working on their second albumOdessey and Oraclein 1967, they were operating on a modest £1,000 budget from their new label, CBS. Three years after their debut singleShe’s Not Theregained traction when written by an 18-year-old band member, the group self-produced their new material across brief sessions spanning six months. It remained our only hit in the UK by the time we recorded our second album, Odessey and Oracle, in 1967 – this was only three years later but it felt like a lifetime. We’d recently signed to CBS and had been given £1,000, which even then was not a huge amount of money. And we were going to each other’s rooms and playing the different things we had, i was sharing a flat with our bass player Chris White. The lyrics reflected the mood of the time. And people were seeing what a devastating thing it was and saying: “I’m not going to be part of this, in 1967 there were pictures of war on TV. We soon used up our £1,000, but because of the tight timeframe we were working to, there was a spontaneity and freshness that was very valuable. What the bass should be playing and what the lead vocal should be doing, rod always has an overview of his songs in his head – he can hear the drum track. It makes me smile now to think I was breaking off from saying the most terrible things to Rod to sing these angelic lines: “It’s the time of the season for loving …”. To me, sounded like the epitome of a hit single, but obviously I was wrong – it was released ahead of Odessey and Oracle and wasn’t successful, care of Cell 44. According to he’d just visited London where he bought about 80 albums that weren’t available in the US, and later, Odessey and Oracle was the one that really stood out. The band had split, by the time the album came out in Terry Quirk’s misspelled sleeve. And CBS released two singles that disappeared without trace, al fought for it. But the other guys came up on stage and let it be known they wanted to play – we hadn’t planned it or rehearsed, i was singing with my solo band. I’ve never quite worked out how it can be both of its time and timeless.
Time of the Seasonemerged as the final track written for the record during shared living arrangements between band members. Reflecting the cultural shift and anti-war sentiment of 1967, the song incorporated lines inspired by classic influences like Gershwin’sSummertimewhile carrying double meanings about lifestyle and generational shifts. In a way, going back to Gershwin’s Summertime, one of the first songs we performed together, but “Is he rich like me?” had kind of a double meaning: “rich” in the sense of understanding how to live, the “Who’s your daddy?” line was.
Recording took place at EMI Recording Studios, later named Abbey Road, directly following sessions by the Beatles forSgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Working alongside recording engineer Geoff Emerick, the group crafted unique sound elements, including a distinctive blend of bass and tom-tom drums, accompanied by a handclap and a breathed vocal effect.
The tight budget forced the band to work quickly, creating a sense of spontaneous energy during production. However, strict studio rules enforced by staff in brown coats created pressure. During one session, staff members even wheeled a piano out of the studio mid-take to strictly enforce the end of a recording block. The language was probably richer than that.
Tensions also surfaced between members inside the control room regarding vocal phrasing and timing under tight clock deadlines. Arguments broke out over execution, resulting in heated exchanges right before recording the song’s soft, harmonic vocal lines. So he was in the control room saying: “No, this phrase should be on the beat but the next phrase should be pushed …” Meanwhile, all the time I’m watching the big hand creeping towards fiv, he’s extremely good at phrasing. Standing where the vocal mic had been set up, I was looking at this big red recording light with a clock underneath it while I tried to get it right.
Despite internal belief in the music, their former label initially saw little commercial appeal in the album. After the group disbanded, former Blood, Sweat & Tears member Al Kooper discovered the imported record in London. Joining CBS as a staff producer, Kooper convinced label president Clive Davis to release the album after Davis initially planned to pass on it. Although early singles failed to gain traction, persistent airplay by a radio DJ in Boise, Idaho, eventually turned the song into a hit.
Over a year after the group had separated, impersonator bands began touring the United States under the Zombies’ name, with one group falsely claiming the original lead singer, Colin Blunstone, had died in a car crash—a rumor even picked up byRolling Stonemagazine. The original lineup did not perform together again until 1997, reuniting unexpectedly on stage at a box set launch at London’s Jazz Cafe. TodayTime of the Seasonremains a staple in films and commercials.
